baby update

I am at the library using the computers here, so this will be short!! I had an amnio this morning to check on the baby's lung development, and we are supposed to get a call at 5:00 in the morning with the results.... if it shows that her lungs are ready then I am scheduled to be at the hospital at 7:30 to start the induction! I am anxious, scared, ready, and excited all wrap up into one! I do not know when the next time I will be able to get to a computer, but most of you are getting updates from family members and/or friends anyway! Please pray that this happens tomorrow, and that everything goes well with the delivery!! Thanks for all your concerns!!

Baby shower and Big Sister

Last Friday evening, some of the ladies at my church gave me a baby shower! They went all out with a Mexican theme(margaritas included) because Jim and I were in Mexico a little over 8 months ago;)!! My mom and Jim's mom came in town, and we really had a great time!!! Many of the ladies even gave Mary Varner some big sister gifts which she enjoyed opening the next morning! I am so thankful to have such a wonderful church family here, and they treat me like I have been here my whole life!

This cake was SOOOO wonderful!!!







A quilt that one lady made! A true labor of love





Mary Varner ready to open her big sister gifts the next morning!!


Having fun with Grandaddy and Nana

new info

Just wanted to let everyone know that the preliminary results of the amnio did not show any genetic disorders! We will get the final results next week, but the genetic counselor said that the chances of the results changing is very slim!!! We are so thankful to get this good news! Now, if the insurance company would stop giving us so much trouble, we can just move on with our next step. Speaking of next step, right now we have an appointment with the OB in B-ham on Tues., and the Ped. Cardiologist on Wed., of next week. I will try to keep everyone posted!

baby update

Yesterday, we found out at the specialist appointment that our baby girl has what they call a coarctation of the aorta which means that the aorta, the main artery of the heart, is narrowed, and is causing an obstruction for the blood flow of her heart. Right now she is doing fine inside me because I am picking up the "slack" for what she may not do on her own. The main concern is going to be when she is born and her heart will have to function on its own. Because of this concern, we are going to have to deliver at a hospital that has the medical staff needed for all the different possibilities that may occur at birth. My doctor is trying to get us into UAB in Birmingham right now, with a induction scheduled within the next two weeks. Another cause of concern, is the slight (less than 25%) possibility that this heart defect is connected to a genetic disorder. They performed an amniocentesis yesterday to check for those disorders and we will start getting back those results in the next 2-7 days.

We ask for many prayers for our baby girl, for Jim and I to have peace and to stay calm, for Mary Varner to adapt to all the changes to her world in the next few months, and especially for the doctors to have wisdom about how to take care of both of us, and for my health during recovery (had a hard recovery last pregnancy)!! We are putting all our trust in our gracious Lord, and know that all of this is in His plan and He is in control! Thank goodness!!!

it gets bigger and bigger

I am 34 weeks and feeling HUGE!!! I may only have about 3 or 4 more weeks judging on when I went into labor with Mary Varner! I know that each time is different, but it doesn't hurt to wish!

Need more prayers...

Today, I went to my dr. for the weekly monitoring of baby sister. They noticed that the hole in her heart is bigger than it should be. Apparently, all babies have a hole(there is an official medical term for it) in their hearts that is normal, but baby sister's hole is bigger than the normal one. We are scheduled to see the specialist on March 9th to get a more detailed report of what is going on and what the next step is going to be. My doctor said that in some cases the hole could close on its own, or if not then she may need surgery after birth (6months-1year)to close it. We really do not know what the course of action is going to be or if any at all until our appointment on March 9th. We are thankful that this "problem" seems to be a "fixable" problem, and the baby is healthy otherwise. Please pray that Jim and I will have peace in our hearts and minds for the next 10 days until the appointment, and that whatever the diagnosis/plan of treatment is that we will completely trust in God and know that He is in control of all things!

I promise to post BIG belly pics this weekend!!!!

Last Week...

The only picture I took last week was one with MV dressed up in her Tinkerbell costume playing with her naked(we lost her dress) Tinkerbell doll. She did not stay in the costume long because she could not find her wand and that was just not going to work. We went to Mississippi at the end of the week to celebrate B'B's 60th birthday. I forgot my camera, but if any of you know my aunt Beth she took enough pictures for everyone. I will get those from her to post later. The update on baby sister is the same, her heart is still skipping and I go every week and they hook me up to all the monitors and record her heart activity for 30 minutes, and do a sonogram. I think this little one has had as many pictures taken of her as Mary Varner has had in the 2 years she has been in this world. Anyway, the latest need for prayer is that my blood plateletes are low, and this means that if they do not come back up before I go into labor then I will not be able to get an epidurel!!! I know that people have children everyday without pain meds, but if you know me I am not one of those types of people. I need an epidural!!!! The doctor said that in pregnancy that plateletes can go up and down and not to worry yet, but that is easy for him to say because he is not 8 months pregnant. They are going to do another blood test this Thursday, so PRAY, PRAY, PRAY that those plateletes are back up!!!

Good News!!

The echocardiogram showed no heart defects or structural problems with the baby's heart. She does have an arrithmia, but the dr. said in most cases they will correct themselves before birth or at birth. I will be going to the dr. for weekly visits to keep a close watch on everything and will go back to the specialist in 3 weeks. We are so thankful to God that there are no major problems to be concerned about, and we will just continue to pray that the arrithmia will correct itself on its own before she is born!! Thank you for all your prayers, and we know that God is in control and that He will take care of this precious little girl!!

Pray for baby sister

I went to the dr. yesterday for my regular appointment, and baby sister's heartbeat was irregular. My dr. told me to call Jim to meet me at the hospital for further testing. Needless to say I was a basket case and scared to death. After many test, and a very detailed sonogram, the baby seems to be healthy. She does have an irregular heartbeat and they do not know why. We are going to a high risk specialist today that is going to do a echocardiogram on her heart (I did not even know they could do that). They have ruled out many birth defects and major problems that it could have been which we are very thankful. My dr. said that sometimes heart arrithmias (spelling?) can come and go and they are nothing to be too concerned about, but we just want to make sure that we do not overlook something that could be wrong! I will keep you posted with today's results! We know that our little angel is in God's hands and He will take care of her no matter what goes on!